I am a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor with 20 years of experience. I am fond of saying that I believe in the healing power of relationships, which is a big reason why I do what I do as a therapist. I have experience working with kids, couples, families, and adult individuals. As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I am no stranger to helping those in struggling relationships and marriages. I also have an extensive history in working with individuals struggling with many different issues including (but not limited to) anxiety, over-thinking, perfectionism, depression, rejection/abandonment issues, sexual issues, inferiority feelings, panic, and trauma. While my approach is very much evidence based, I often remark that I am more like a tour-guide helping others better understand their own emotional world. You are the one doing the work, I am just making connections and pointing out the interesting tidbits along the way.

What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?

In our first session together, following brief introductions, I like to spend my time gathering information from you the client and learning what brings you to therapy. A key question to ask in the initial stages of the therapy process is "why now?" so I seek to understand my clients' motivation for taking the often difficult step into therapy. I will most likely ask clinical questions to gain an overall understanding of your behavioral health history, learn about previous therapy experiences, and gain your perspective on the concept of therapy as a process. For marital/couples counseling I seek to understand the communication dynamic that exists between each partner and start the process of looking for unproductive communication patterns.

Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.

I believe I am especially skilled at helping people move past feelings of judgement in any capacity; be that judgement of others or self. A key element of personal growth is acceptance of all emotions and aspects of person hood, this acceptance is a journey of compassion that the client takes in the therapy process. I play a role in helping the client engage compassion of self and others by modeling this acceptance so that the client can then internalize it for themselves.

Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.

I have a long history working with many different types of people. My approach seeks to validate and value the person, the human, first of all and seek to meet the individual, couple, or family at their emotional starting point. I have 12 years of experience working with active duty solders and their families and am thus adept at serving those with trauma needs and other issues of anxiety or mood disruption. Clients wanting to work through emotional pain at any level will usually find my style calming and engaging as they seek to manage the difficulties of their internal world.

About Jeff Harris